Monthly Archives: January 2013

E-marketing is increasing in importance and traditional print and television marketing declines every day.

E-marketing consists of all digital or internet based marketing. From the latest social media to email marketing. This includes banner advertising on websites and search engine optimization.

E-marketing strategies have been popular due to the low cost of involvement, but time has shown that without an effective strategy, simple online tactics often fail to accomplish the organizations goal. Therefore even with lower costs – ineffective e-marketing on its own may not yield a high ROI.

What many marketing professionals have realized is that an integrated strategy is often the most effective. Combining some of the e-marketing tactics – together with some traditional tactics can have excellent results. Combining a variety of e-marketing tactics has also achieved excellent results. Such has been the case for content marketing such as blogging, combined with effective social media promotion. With the right target market – this strategy has yielded amazing results.

Therefore no single strategy can be the answer for what is the best return on investment for advertising. This is definitely dependent on your target market, your key message, and what your market’s buyer behaviour patterns are.

The closest correct answer would be creating a custom integrated advertising strategy. This will always yield the best results for your marketing investment.

I have come to realize that in the world of social media – I am at a distinct disadvantage.

I am a guy – so I will admit that guys are not as pretty as girls. So in a world where every time you make a post, comment or tweet, they see your face, of course people would rather look at a pretty lady vs. my mug.
I’m getting up there in age – my six-pack is long gone – my hair is almost gone, and I don’t have the money in my bank account to make up for it (right Donald).

My buds aren’t on social media. The guys I have hung out with over the years, played hockey, gone to college, worked at jobs and farming – they just ain’t on Facebook much – and they sure ain’t tweeting (or not admitting to it).

I don’t love cute kitty pictures. I don’t rave over heart breaking videos of kids singing a song. I don’t post a lot of inspirational quotes on mountainside backgrounds that take your breath away. That just ain’t me. So I don’t get the comments and shares that the more emotional gender get.

I am not that chatty. I don’t tell others when I feel sick, I don’t have thoughts for today, nor do I comment on the food I am about to eat. So again I am left out of those conversations that seem to fill up many Facebook Walls and Twitter feeds.

I don’t like shoes – so Pinterest really isn’t for me.

So – you can see – I am not a prime candidate for social media. I am at a bit of a disadvantage. People don’t want to see my face too much. If I make the wrong comment on the wrong wall, people think I am creeping their page.

I have a hard time posting the stuff that people usually see on social media.

So I see the challenge – but the problem is I want to be involved. I love the whole social aspect – much like I loved hanging out for coffee back in college, or going to the bar when I was young. Social media is cool – and I love to hang with people.

I want social media where I can make a comment that is thoughtful. I want to answer people’s questions. I want to discuss ideas.

I look for those opportunities – sometime finding them in topic specific groups, sometimes in forums. But they are few and far between.

Maybe somebody needs to start a social network for guys ideas – and don’t worry – we always are ok with letting the ladies in. 🙂

What has been working to get the message out?
What is important for a business?

Companies want to build trust and credibility.
Companies want to capture prospects at the right time – during the buying process.

Companies want to be seen as providing a solution – not simply ‘selling’ stuff.

What other trends . . .

More and more consumers – both B2C and B2B are researching online before purchasing. They are using search engines to find good information.

As well – consumers are looking for advice from other people. At the same time, they are also influenced by what others are talking about – often through social media.

What has become an important part of a companies marketing plan?

A website – a solid online presence is vital these days.
But consumers want more – they want to see information from other than just the organizations own website.

So – from a marketing perspective – if a business could get there message out to their prospects – when they are looking for information (searching online). And this information could be from a third party. And even better – if this information could be backed up by people talking about it – by seeing a discussion online in social media – would that not influence the buyer. Move them further down the sales funnel.